Near North Food Tasting & Cultural Walking Tour

I liked the tour but there was A LOT of walking involved. I know i was warend about that beforehand, but really there was a lot of walking. Also i felt that we were rushed to finish the slice of pizza we got at the start. The places were were taken to were nice and i enjoyed seeing another part of Chicago.

Our guide was informative and professional, telling stories in Chicago history. I liked it.

Very informative and a greate way to experience parts of Chicago that I wouldn't have otherwise seen. Thank you Food Planet!

My husband and I received this tour as a Christmas gift from our family. We are from Michigan and always enjoy going to Chicago for a mini vacation or a day of shopping. The tour was everything we hoped it would be and more. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable about Chicago history, restaurants, stores, and the architecture of the residential buildings and neighborhoods. She was always eager to tell us more than we expected and she had a super disposition and great smile. We toured a variety of shops: deli, tea shop, spice store, oils, gourmet foods and cheese, two candy shops, and pizza parlor. Their samples were delicious. We were fortunate to visit when the owners were there and they shared extra stories and interesting facts with us. It was fun to meet the people in our group and learn from what part of the country they traveled. One person was visiting from the UK. Be sure to wear comfortable shoes and bring an umbrella in case of rain. We had great weather. We highly recommend this tour.

I live in the suburbs of Chicago and went on this tour with a friend. It was a good tour to introduce you to new places in Chicago. I have more ideas for gifts and places to take friends. If you aren't from Chicago, you will learn some interesting facts from the tour guide and they do give catalogs to order things over the internet at a later time, since you can't purchase items on the tour.

The tour guide was the best! It was a great day - the weather was perfect, the food stops were great, and the guide was full of personality.

Everyone in my group was both educated and entertained by our tour guide, Nicki. She was a delight and my husband and I can't wait to come back next year for the new Bucktown/Wicker tour.

We were visiting our twenty something daughter who lives in Chicago. She thought that this tour would interest all of us because it highlighted some shops that she knew nothing about, and of course, there was food, which will keep my husband and I happy. What I loved was getting up close and personal with the food, sniffing spices, tasting vinegars, and standing over candy as it was being made. All of the stops were great, learned something new at each one. Loved the walk through the different neighborhoods, the bits of history, the smattering of local real estate gossip. Our guide (Jennifer) couldn't have been better; she was knowledgeable, polite, engaging, and articulate. She set a warm tone and our small group (7) all became friends and chatted away as we walked. I would love to do another tour and may check out the Bucktown tour next summer when we visit. We did a lot of walking but were never tired with so many stops and refreshments. While I understand the need to not let people shop, I think there should be away to encourage the individual merchants to have already packaged tour sample gifts for perhaps $10 that you could pay cash for and take with you (or else have pre-paid coupons). Many people may not have the opportunity to return for shopping and would like some small item from a shop as a remembrance. The tour really left an impression on me, it was a feast for the senses and most importantly for our bellies.

When they say the tour goes rain or shine, they aren't kidding. We did our tour during the rain from Gustav and it rained the entire day but it wasn't cold. There is plenty of walking but the stops are terrific and Emily was a great guide who knew a lot about the areas we walked through as well as the stops we made. I particularly enjoyed the Spice Market and Tom, the owner, who gave a great presentation on various cinnamons. The tea shop and oil store were also favorites of mine and I went retraced my steps (still in the rain) to make some purchases. I highly recommend the tour for some great shops and some interesting history of Chicago.

We had a great time...our tour guide Kent was a lot of fun. It was raining the whole time we were walking, but it was still definitely worth it. Highlights were the olive oil and balsamic vinegar tasting and the scrumptious stuffed pizza at the end.